Still Stinging Like A Bee: Family Deny Muhammad Ali Is Near Death

The family of Muhammad Ali is denying British tabloid reports that the former heavyweight champ is near death.

According to the Courier-Journal of Louisville, the family posted a photo on Twitter of Ali wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey while watching the live telecast of the game at his Phoenix home Sunday night.

“He looks great,” family spokesman Bob Gunnell told newspaper. “He’s having a Super Bowl party.” Gunnell told the paper that Ali was at home in Phoenix with his wife, Lonnie.

Reports that Ali, 71, was near death were published over the weekend by two British newspapers — The Sun and The Daily Mail, which quoted Ali’s brother, Rahman Ali, as saying:

“It could be months, it could be days. I don’t know if he’ll last the summer. He’s in God’s hands.”

Ali’s daughter, Laila, 35, is a retired professional boxer. Ali suffers from Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system that robs sufferers of their mobility and their ability to speak.